Goodbye Moony
by CornflakeCrunch
Summary: Remus starts to rebuild his life after the events of Halloween 1981. But after a visit to see Sirius in Azkaban and hearing him recount his own tale of the way things happened, Remus can't help but wonder whether his friend is telling the truth. Meanwhile he is also trying to find a job as well as carving a path for himself in the Wizarding World. [Regular Updates]
1. Azkaban

The sky-high building stood, resilient, amongst the crashing, deadly waves and cold, salty wind. The sense of dread filled the air, draining it of any happiness and giving the impression that it would never be felt again. That would be the Dementors, Remus thought as he pulled his travelling cloak more tightly around himself. He was trying to block out the howls and cries that could be heard from inside Azkaban as he walked along the corridor to the stairwell.

His Patronus glimmered as it trotted along beside him, doing little to blot out the despair and sadness that visitors of the prison would always have to endure while visiting their loved ones, but for Remus it was different; the dread he felt was centred inside of him, in his broken heart.  
It was the 31st of December 1981, exactly two months after it had happened. Since James and Lily had been murdered, and then no less than two hours later, Peter had also been killed. And it was all _his _fault. Sirius. Sirius had abandoned and betrayed his friends and by doing so had destroyed everything that Remus had loved. Remus was alone now, and he reckoned it would always be that way.

He hadn't wanted to come visit Sirius, it had taken it two months to work up the courage and not get angry every time he thought of him, and now, as he looked at the black, grimy walls of the prison, he was already starting to regret it. He wanted answers mostly, he wanted to know why it had happened, he wanted to lay his eyes upon the man responsible for ruining so many lives, for taking so much away from Remus' own.

Remus climbed the stairs while his Patronus leaped up them ahead of him. Seeing the shimmering, blue-tinged wolf was inflicting more pain than it took as it reminded Remus of Sirius as the black, shaggy dog that he had willingly learned how to become so that he and James and Peter could join Remus when he became a werewolf once a month. That same friend, that had so openly been willing to help him was obviously also just as willing to betray his friends to Voldemort.

He was on Sirius' cell's floor now, anger grew in Remus with every step he took, every prisoner in their cells jeered and yelled at him. And then he had arrived, he stood at the bars of the cell looking in at the thinning, bedraggled young man that Remus had once called his best friend. He was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Remus cleared his throat and Sirius turned his head slightly and, noticing him, turned his head back so that he was staring at the ceiling and his expression was shrouded in darkness.

"Remus."

"Black."

"Are we no longer on a first name basis then?" Sirius asked sounding upset but strangely calm.

"I should think so," Remus said stiffly, "Are you just going to lie there?"

Sirius sighed and folded his arms. Remus observed him, tight lipped, his jaw set.

"Nothing to say for yourself then?" he asked Sirius, his tone was dangerously low.

"Nothing you would believe." Sirius replied.

"Oh really?" Remus said, rolling his eyes.

"Yes, really."

"Try then. Say something." Remus said, ignoring Sirius' obnoxiously casual tone.

"Why? It took you 2 months to come, you obviously believe what they're all saying."

"You sold Lily and James out to Voldemort. And then you killed Peter, Sirius! Not to mention all those Muggles. There were witnesses, everyone saw what happened." Remus said, his voice growing louder and angrier.

"Why did you come?" Sirius asked, sitting up, his face still hidden in the shadows.

Remus shook his head, "I don't know. I thought I could somehow find out _why_ you would do this. _How_ you could do this."

Sirius thought for a moment and then he spoke "I didn't."

Remus' throat tightened and he spoke almost in a whisper, "That's not going to work on me."

"Then leave!" Sirius yelled. He stood up and grabbed the bars of his cell so that he was face to face with Remus. And Remus could now see him clearly. Azkaban was clearly getting to him, his dark hair had grown long and lank and he had dark bags under his eyes which had a wild yet damaged beyond repair look to them.

"Oh, I will," Remus said simply, "You're going to sit here, and pay for what you did, and I'm going to leave and move on with my life. I came here to tell you that, to tell you that this is the last time you will ever see me."

"Good!" Sirius roared, he was laughing maniacally now, "Leave! Get out!" he shook the bars of his cell. Remus gave him one last look, then turned and started walking back towards the stairs.

"Wait," Sirius said quietly. Remus sighed and turned around.

"What?" he asked, "Are you going to tell me the truth?"

Sirius smiled, but it was still tinged with a sort of wildness, "I will tell you what happened and you won't believe me."

"We'll see about that," Remus said and walked back to the cell so that he was, again, standing face to face with Sirius.

"You know how I was the Secret Keeper?" Sirius began.

"I know how you didn't keep the secret." Remus said angrily and Sirius smiled again and shook his head.

"Dumbledore suggested that they changed the Secret Keeper, so they did," Sirius told him and Remus raised his eyebrows but Sirius continued, "He said that they should change it but keep pretending it was me, just as an extra way to protect them. They made Peter the Secret Keeper and told no one so that it would be believable."

Remus felt as though he could almost believe it, "So...you didn't break the Fidelius Charm? That would mean..._not Peter_!" he said aghast.

"That slimy git; went and told Voldemort the first chance he got! That's how Voldemort knew where to find them." Sirius said and he was no longer smiling.

"But, you still...you killed him? And all the Muggles?" Remus asked, the story sounded as though it had an element of truth to it, but it was also just too easy, too simple.

"No! That wasn't me! I swear," Sirius sounded almost as though he was pleading now, "I mean I was going to...to kill Peter, I admit, but he was ready and he deflected the curse and it rebounded on all those Muggles and then, the git, he chopped off his finger, turned into a rat and scuttled away, leaving me to look like I had done it!"

But this had been too much, Remus didn't believe this, he couldn't, it just sounded too well put together and he shook his head. Sirius saw him do it and sighed.

"I knew it, I knew you wouldn't believe it." he said sadly.

"I don't, I just don't and you know why?" Remus said and he was angry now, "Because you made it up, you've had so much time to come up with and convince yourself of this story that even you believe it, but it's not true and it doesn't sound true!" he was yelling, "And this was a waste of time!"

"Then go." Sirius said quietly, he turned and walked back to his bed and was engulfed in the shadows again.

"They were your best friends," Remus said, "They were _our_ best friends. And now...I have no one. But neither do you, and thank God for that." his words cut Sirius, they were harsh and cold. "I thought I knew you." Remus carried on.

"You do," Sirius said, "You see; you do, you know me. You know I would never do this." he sounded desperate.

"Well, I obviously don't then. Goodbye Sirius Black." Remus said and started walking away again, but this time he didn't turn back, and if he had been walking just a fraction faster, he wouldn't have heard Sirius's farewell, which was a practically inaudible whisper.

_"Goodbye Moony." _And as Remus walked away, he wiped a single tear from his cheek and continued walking down the stairs, when he got to the second floor a tiny purple, furry ball bounded across the corridor and landed at his feet. He bent down to pick it up just as a little girl of about 8 came running.

"Is this yours?" he asked her, his voice wavering slightly as he still struggled not to cry. The little girl nodded and smiled up at him, her dark blue eyes sparkling. Just then a witch and a wizard appeared from around a corner, they were arguing.

"No Ted," the witch said, "I don't care that she's my sister, I'm not visiting her again!" Remus handed the furry ball which appeared to be breathing softly, back to the little girl.

"Come, Dora." the wizard said and smiled apologetically at Remus as the girl ran to the couple, obviously her parents, her short, bubblegum pink hair shining in the gloomy light.

* * *

**A/N:** Annndddd I threw in Tonks at the end otherwise it would have been unbelievably and unforgivably depressing. I truly hope you enjoyed it.  
Pretty please with two cherries on top **review**, favourite, anything if you enjoyed it.

Love and Bertie Botts Beans,

-I


	2. A Werewolf Looking for a Job

**3 January 1982**

Remus looked out through the tiny window of his tiny apartment's tiny kitchen. The clouds were grey and thick drops of water were falling heavily from them, leaving dotted trails down the glass. A white mug filled with cold coffee sat on the small, metal table he sat at, alone. He could feel himself struggling to focus on the job's section of _The Daily Prophet _as he scoured, block after block, of possible work opportunities; but to no avail as his mind kept wandering back to pressing thoughts that made him question what he was doing with himself. The fact that a small, whitewashed room with rain-streaked windows and dull, metallic furniture could so accurately match his inner feelings worried him to a great extent.

The truth was; he now felt and had nothing. His friends were all either dead or locked up in Azkaban. _Sirius could have been telling the truth though- _a tiny ever-present thought spoke in the back of his mind. It had been three days since he had visited Sirius, told him he would never be seeing him again and then listened to his ex-best-friend's deranged ravings that, as much as Remus didn't believe, a small part of him was interested in. But it all seemed too complicated, because if Peter had been the one to betray James and Lily and what Sirius had said was true, there was no evidence or proof to give of this and Sirius would still be stuck in Azkaban and Remus would still be alone.

His sigh filled the room and he folded up the newspaper and drank the last of his coffee, pulling a face as the cold dregs flowed down his throat. He didn't have a job, he didn't have a plan to get a job and the more he thought about it the more depressed he felt. He had achieved top marks in everything and for a normal wizard this would mean opportunity after opportunity piling up, but Remus wasn't a normal wizard and as a Werewolf he was obligated to let potential employers of his "condition" when applying. This generally resulted in an apology and a dismissal and Remus would leave; feelings of anxiety refreshed.

At least when the Order had still been going he would have something to do; people to spend time with, but when Lord Voldemort had been defeated, the true effects of the War could be seen clearly. James, Lily, Peter, Gideon and Fabian Prewett dead; Frank and Alice Longbottom tortured to insanity and stuck in St. Mungo's. It seemed that the only survivors had been Dumbledore, Mad-Eye and Remus himself. And Sirius. Although Remus wasn't sure he could count him as a part of the Order any more. Or a survivor in this case.

_Tap. Tap. Tap_. Remus looked up with a start. A large, grey owl was standing on the perch outside his window with an envelope tied to its foot, the paper spotted with water marks as the rain still fell. Remus opened the window and untied the letter, dropping 3 Knuts into the pouch tied around its other foot. It gave him a reproachful look, clearly displeased with the payment, or the fact that it was daytime and owls were nocturnal, Remus wasn't entirely sure, but it waited, obviously expecting a reply.

The envelope was grey and carried only his name and address as well as a large, black 'A' printed at the top next to a vaguely familiar symbol: a double-lined triangle with intersecting edges. He turned it in his hands and spotted a black, wax-seal stamped with the same triangular symbol. He broke the seal and took out the letter, realising immediately what it was. The paper, also grey, was the official stationary of Azkaban; the symbol had been the shape of the prison from above. At the top right hand corner of the paper was the symbol yet again with "Azkaban Prison" boldly written beside it. Written upon the letter, in Sirius's scraggly, cramped writing were the words "_Happy New Year. Sorry you still don't believe me. -Padfoot"_ Remus stared at it, his face hardening.

"Never gives up, does he?" he muttered aloud and the owl gave a hoot.

"You think I should reply?" Remus asked the owl, sighing, to which it narrowed its eyes and huddled itself as far into the kitchen window frame as it could without actually coming in. "By all means, make yourself at home," Remus told the owl as he folded up the letter, "No one else will be visiting for a while." The owl took two tentative steps then hopped down onto the counter and looked up at him curiously.

Remus stuffed the letter back into the envelope and set it aside, then he pushed his plate of uneaten bacon towards the owl and reopened _The Daily Prophet._

* * *

**5 January 1982**

"And how much experience do you have in the jewellery making field?" the bright-eyed witch asked Remus.

"I-well I just thought I could work behind the counter or arrange receipts or...something." he replied. A job opportunity had finally caught his eye after searching for another hour. It was a small, home-made jewellery shop run by a witch and her sister, both of whom wore large shawls with paisley patterns and appeared to be trying to give the impression that they were walking advertisements of their own jewellery as their arms were covered in beaded bracelets and numerous necklaces hung around their necks.

"Ah, but here at Jubilante Jewellery Emporium, we believe anyone interested in working here should have an extensive knowledge of jewels and their properties, you know, so that the appropriate worth can be easily calculated." the witch replied, her jewelled necklace glittering as she moved, obviously enthusiastic about her work.

"Look, Ms Jubilante-"

"Please called me Pandora, and actually" - the witch flashed her left hand so that Remus got a clear view of a far more elegant ring, inlaid with a white gem that seemed to shimmer and sparkle in the light, on her finger - "It's going to be Mrs Lovegood soon, but yes Pandora."

"Right, then, er, Pandora, I could really just use a simple job, anything really." Remus could feel his voice growing desperate.

Pandora sighed and shuffled his papers, "Mr Lupin, Remus, may I call you Remus?" he nodded, "You have some very good marks here, a place like Jubilante's just doesn't suit you." Remus's false look of eagerness and enthusiasm slowly drifted to one of disappointment. "I say this by no means on account of you being a werewolf," Pandora said baldly, garnering a slight start from Remus, he wasn't used to people so out-rightly discussing it, but Pandora seemed somewhat oblivious to the affect her words had just had on him, "You have unbelievable potential, have you considered being a teacher, or a writer? I'm sure my fiancé, Xenophilius Lovegood, editor of _The Quibbler _would be happy to publish anything from someone as intelligent as yourself."

Remus struggled very hard not to suppress a quiet snicker, _The Quibbler _was hardly something he would have aimed for had he been a writer. Although the idea of writing had struck a vein and he was starting to consider it; he could give advice, help people dealing with werewolf issues or even other things. He had never considered it but it seemed a good idea, no one would even have to know it was him, or that he was a werewolf, he could create an entirely different person and help people as much as he could. Remus was so consumed in his thoughts of being a writer that he hadn't noticed Pandora was still rambling on about him and his potential.

"...a Ravenclaw, am I correct?" she asked as she started braiding her white-blonde hair with flicking movements from her wand.

"Gryffindor actually." Remus replied, packing up his papers.

"Oh," Pandora said sounding vaguely disappointed, "I suppose that's good too."

"Pandora! Luna got into your bloody Diligent Plums again!" came a yell from the next room followed by Pandora's sister walking in, an infant with a wondrous look of oblivion etched on her face to match her mother's.

"Dirigible, darling," Pandora told her sister, taking her daughter in her arms, "And let her play, the early introduction will do her good. Xenophilius and I are working on introducing her to the Crumple-Horned Snorkack next week." she continued dreamily.

"Fantastic," her sister muttered.

"So, I'll go then," Remus said standing up, holding his briefcase at his side.

"Oh, thank you for dropping in, please, take a bottle of complimentary Gurdyroot Infusion, we make it ourselves." Pandora told him.

"_We _don't, _you_ do." Pandora's sister said irritably.

"Oh, Clementine, do stop fussing," Pandora said dreamily patting her sister on the head.

Remus sidled out of the shop after suspiciously eyeing the bottles of murky, brown liquid and made his way into the bustling streets of Diagon Alley. Passing a stand laden with _Daily Prophets, _he smiled to himself and carried on thinking up ways to introduce himself into the writing world and get his articles published.


	3. A New Hope

"Hmm," the stout wizard said, his eyes scanning over Remus's writing. He had only stayed up half the night, writing and editing an article that he had entitled "The Wonders of Being A Werewolf", he had been very proud of it as he'd finally gotten into bed at 3AM that morning, but now, watching the wizard's unimpressed expression get more and more insulting; Remus wondered whether he actually would be likely to get a job at the _Daily Prophet_.

"Is that a good 'hmm', Sir?" Remus asked trying to lighten the awkward silence.

"Well," the wizard shifted in his seat, "It ain't exactly a bad one, but the writing," he scrunched up his face, "Well, could use some refining."

"R-Refining, Sir?" Remus asked, his face falling. He realised now that his earlier eagerness the jump into the art of writing may have been hastier than necessary. Remus had always assumed he had a knack for writing as he had always gotten top marks on his essays, but he supposed now that writing about the properties of Lacewing Flies and giving the emotive, inner feelings of being a werewolf differed somewhat.

"Yeah, well, what I mean to say," the wizard leaned forward and grabbed a cigar which he placed in his mouth and lit, "You've definitely got yourself some potential," he blew smoke out of his mouth, reminding Remus vaguely of a train, "What I would suggest is that you go out and get yourself some experience. Go on trips, find a small stand-alone newspaper and write for them; get some life experience, then rewrite this and bring it back."

"But, Sir, I've got all the life experience I could possibly need for a piece like that," Remus tried to make him see reason, "What more could I include?"

"That's what you've gotta find out for yourself," the wizard said, his grey eyes sparkling despite the dense smoke from his cigar which was filling the room. Remus sighed and reached for his article which he packed away into his briefcase. "You know what that is missing?" the wizard asking pointing at the parchment as Remus stuffed a loose corner of it so that it was concealed.

"Yes, Sir?" Remus asked.

"Love."

"Love?"

"Yep; I'm not seeing any romantic relationships of any sort in there, and no one wants to read about a lonely person who can't get some."

Remus cleared his throat, embarrassed at the sudden change of conversation, "That's a part of being a werewolf though," he said, refusing to make eye contact, "It's not exactly easy to maintain any relationships of the...romantic sort."

"Is that so?" the wizard asked, surveying Remus over his thick-framed lenses.

"Well...yeah."

"And that answer shows how very much you need to get out more, to live. Any romantic relationship is difficult to maintain, and yes werewolves need to work a little harder but it's not impossible, trust me."

"Sorry?" Remus asked curiously and the wizard smiled and pulled up the sleeve of his robes on his right arm; it was covered in three parallel scars, each about 12 inches long and clearly having been very deep. "Oh..." Remus breathed, shocked.

"Happened when I was 18, and yeah, it's been a hard life, but having my wife by my side has made it easier and worth living."

"You're married?" Remus asked softly.

"35 Years this May," the wizard said proudly, interlacing his fingers and resting them on his desk, "Your piece shows that you clearly know what it's like to be a werewolf, but there's so much more to it."

"I see," Remus said, "Well thank you then, I'll do as you said. The life experience and so on," He turned to face the door and put his hand on the knob.

"Good luck," the wizard said from behind him and Remus nodded and opened the door.

Remus wondered the cobbled streets of Diagon Alley for the rest of the afternoon, but didn't get very much done. By 5:00PM that afternoon, Remus had consumed two large peanut butter and marshmallow ice creams from Fortescue's place and wandered aimlessly into at least a dozen shops in which there was nothing he had any reason for wanting to buy. At one point he found himself in Pedro's Plantopia: Centre for Magical Flowers, Herbs and Grasses, staring at a bewitched Bonsai tree and marvelling lamely as it emitted puffs of purple glitter every few minutes.

When he decided to finally go home, he was passing Jubilante's Jewellery Emporium as Pandora Jubilante (soon to be Lovegood) was locking the door. Remus wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone but Pandora seemed so kind-hearted, it would have felt rude not to say hello, and besides, Lupin wondered, maybe he had a chance writing for the _The Quibbler_ seeing as the _Prophet _wasn't interested, yet.

"Pandora!" Remus exclaimed, fixing his face into a look of contentedness. She turned around, her own face breaking into its own, genuine smile.

"Remus!" she said, slipping a bunch of keys into her bag, "What are you doing here? Have you come to apply for the job again? Have you been writing, like I said?"

"No and yes," Remus laughed, replying to her individual questions in one breath. Pandora's eyes widened and she looked delighted.

"Oh you must let me read them, er, that is, if they're not too personal. Although..._wait_ you're dressed smartly"-she eyed him up and down-"Have you been to the _Daily Prophet_ offices? Oh, are they going to publish it?" Pandora had quite the talent for jumping to conclusions.

"Erm, yes and no?" Remus attempted to answer both her questions again and Pandora sighed dramatically, a look of disappointment etched into her features.

"Come, join Xenophilius and me for dinner, Emilia will be there too." she held out her small hand.

"Who is Emilia?" Remus wondered aloud.

"My sister, silly, I saw you looking at her the other day, you seemed interested." Remus struggled to remember what the other witch who ran the shop had looked like but all he could picture was another Pandora.

"I couldn't intrude-" Remus began but Pandora cut him off instantly.

"Don't be ridiculous; come, Xeno would love to meet you, I've told him all about you and oh!" Pandora clapped a hand to her mouth, her eyes looked as though they would bulge out of her head, "You could discuss your article! I'm sure he would be happy to publish it for you!"

"Well, I-" Remus tried to speak again but before he could utter a single, proper word, Pandora had already grabbed his hand and turned on the spot and he felt the familiar compressing feeling as though he were being stuffed through a tube; they had Disapparated. Remus tried to balance himself in the new location and fought the urge to vomit before opening his eyes. They were standing on a hill in front of a peculiar looking house which was shaped like a large cylinder and was painted white with sapphire coloured swirls delicately painted all the way to the top. There was a small tree with small, plum-like fruits hanging from it at the bottom of a short staircase which lead to a rounded door.

"Xeno!" Pandora called as she hopped up the stairs and started turning a wheel connected to the wall of the house. Remus watched as a marigold coloured, duck-shaped kite grew closer and closer to the ground stopping only once Pandora had wound up the entire wheel and the kite was propped neatly to the side of the small landing in front of the door which opened and a rather tall man walked out of.

"Pan, my dear!" he exclaimed, kissing Pandora on the lips and then turning to Remus. The man had short, white-blonde hair, just like his wife and light blue eyes. He wore a poncho embroidered with several, multicoloured llamas which appeared to be prancing around in a scene on top of a volcano. Remus felt himself staring, encaptivated at the poncho in such a way that he almost didn't notice when Xenophilius Lovegood grasped his hand in a firm handshake.

"You must be Remus then, Remus Lupin? An absolute pleasure!" Xenophilius smiled widely and stepped aside so as to allow Remus to step inside his home which Remus did, trying to shake the deep interest he had had in Xenophilius' poncho not a moment ago. The inside of the Lovegood house was, if possible even stranger than the outside. The kitchen appeared to be made specifically for a cylindrical house as each counter folded neatly into each other. A round, peacock blue dining table stood in the centre with several fuchsia coloured chairs scattered around it. A large roasted bird sat in the centre of the table, surrounded by 3 large plates and one smaller bowl, obviously for Pandora's baby, Luna.

"Oh! I'll just add one more plate to the mix shall I? Please make yourself at home!" Xenophilius said hurrying over to a cupboard and pulling out a plate. Remus looked around at the rest of the first floor. The floor was carpeted in what appeared to be multiple carpets all sewn together, all pinks and blues and yellows strewn at random. There was a living room set in the corner and several bookshelves stacked high with books as well as a machine covered in a sheet which was emitting loud clanking noises regularly.

"Luna's fussing Pan, she refuses to go to sleep-oh, hello," came Pandora's sister's voice. She was coming down the stairs, Baby Luna dressed in pale lilac robes making her best effort to clamour out of her aunt's arms.

"Hello," Remus said smiling at her, now that he saw her, out of the shop; she looked far more normal and actually quite pretty. She was dressed in mauve coloured robes and her hair was braided, tiny white daisies poking out of it. She had dark blue eyes which twinkled as she smiled back at Remus.

"I didn't know you were joining us," she said throwing her sister a furtive glance as Luna carried on bouncing in her arms.

"Oh, yes, I ran to into him just as I was closing up," Pandora said dreamily poring herself a glass of light green liquid, "By the way, Xeno, he's written something you could put into the magazine." she told her fiancé.

"Oh, well I-" Remus stammered but Xenophilius beamed.

"Excellent!" he said loudly, rubbing his hands together, "But first, let us eat, I'm sure we're all starved."

Remus seated himself at the table as Emilia put Luna into a high chair and sat down next to him.

"I do hope you enjoy pheasant, Remus?" Xenophilius indicated the roasted bird on the table and Remus nodded as Pandora piled potatoes onto his plate.

Once everyone was seated and had their meals in front of them, Remus got a real sense of just how odd the Lovegood house was. Discussions ranged from the current economic problems in Australia to the weather conditions in Brazil and changed just as quickly as they were brought up. Conversation was one fluid, constant at the table and was never haltered, even as they all ate.

After dinner, Pandora and Emilia had taken Luna over to the lounge section of the room and Remus remained seated with Xenophilius and together they drank the green liquid, which Remus had found to be rather enjoyable as it tasted of frosted watermelon. Xenophilius had been most keen to hear Remus's article and simply insisted that Remus allowed him to put it into _The Quibbler_. Remus had felt rather uneasy about telling someone he had only just met about his "furry little problem" however he eventually convinced himself to do it, after remembering what the wizard at the _Prophet _offices had told him.

Remus had been relieved to see that Xenophilius hadn't reacted badly and instead his smile grew even bigger, "What an experience!" he gasped, his already large eyes widening.

"Well, yes, I suppose it is," Remus said.

"And your article, it's about being a werewolf then?" Xenophilius asked, pouring himself another glass of the watermelon drink.

"Oh yes, all about it." Remus replied, smiling.

"Well, I would be simply honoured to include it in this month's issue then! Do you have it hear?" he said.

"I do," Remus said and removed the parchment from his briefcase. Sliding it across the table he said "I was told it needed refining though."

Xenophilius shook his head, "I believe in putting an author's article, word for word into the magazine, otherwise it just isn't authentic." Remus smiled.

"Of course, I'll be paying you for it," Xenophilius told him.

"No, no, I wouldn't expect you to at all!" Remus said, ready to refuse any money at all from Xenophilius Lovegood.

"It's part of the basic publishing process," Xenophilius told him, "It's routine; 10 Galleons to each article writer. I cannot accept no for an answer, it's against my policy."

Remus felt quite relieved, although he had been ready to refuse payment, he also knew how much he needed it. "Well, if you're sure..."

Xenophilius nodded vigorously and folded up the piece of parchment.

Remus yawned and got up, "Well, I should be going then." Pandora and Emilia got up and walked across the room to say goodbye. "Thank you so much for the wonderful supper, and for agreeing to publish my piece." Remus said gratefully and shook Xenophilius's hand. He then recieved a bone crushing hug from Pandora who told him he was always welcome for dinner or to visit, but when it was Emilia's turn to say goodbye Pandora pulled Xenophilius with her into a corner and winked at him.

"Er, goodnight then," Emilia said, smiling lightly at her sister's antics.

"We should go out some time," Remus blurted out and then quickly covered his mouth his hand, his eyes wide. Emilia laughed but nodded.

"I'd like that." She hugged him quickly and then he collected his briefcase and his jacket and stepped out the front door. Smiling to himself, he turned on the spot and Disapparated, reappearing a moment later right outside the front door of his apartment. Sighing happily, he let himself in, his jubilant mood broken only when he noticed another grey letter with Azkaban's symbol on it sitting on the kitchen table.


	4. The Hollow

**You know me.**

Sirius.

That was it. That had been all that Sirius had written in his letter, now pinned to the wall in Remus's kitchen. It had been scrunched up and folded several times, a sign of the times he had gotten angry with it and tried to forget about it, but currently he was in a state of consideration. The truth was that he _did _know Sirius, and a story such as this one, generally, wouldn't even be associated with the likes of his ex-best friend. _But, then, war changes people, _Remus thought. These thoughts chased each other daily and well into the night, imprinting themselves firmly into his brain. But he didn't give Sirius the satisfaction of knowing this.

Besides, there were far more important written things that caused Remus's mind to go into overdrive. His article had just been published in _The Quibbler _and Remus spent most of his time at Xenophilius Lovegood's house helping him open fan mail and staying alert for anything about his piece about being a werewolf.

One the first day there had been nothing, "Don't worry yourself," Xenophilius had told him, "The first day is always letters about the glorious cover art," he shoved a copy of the magazine under Remus's nose, "Look at it, by the talented Miss Birdie Gericho, isn't it wonderful?" Remus had given the cover a quick glance - making a mental note never to buy any artwork by the witch as it consisted of a badly drawn elephant covered in tiny, orange mirrors - nodded and continued opening envelopes.

The next day there was a letter by a cleverly named "Anoni Mouse" who had proceeded to rant about the bad representation of spotted-hair-syndrome. A sickness that they had most likely both invented and self-diagnosed themselves with. They had also made a comparison between the alienation having the sickness brought and the stigma around lycanthropy which Remus had not only found horrendously offensive but also ridiculously inaccurate. Again, though, Xenophilius had told him not to worry; the ranters took up mostly the second and third days, but after that the comments on articles would come in.

Remus was pleased to discover that he had been right, as, on the fourth day, upon opening a butterscotch yellow envelope, he found a letter written in spiky handwriting.

"Dear Mr Person Who Wrote the Article," Remus read aloud to Xenophilius and grinning, "My mom let me read your article because she wants me to learn that some people are different and that's okay. I'm different too. I can change how I look when I want to. It's really fun but some people don't understand and that makes me sad. I hope you are not sad. Being different is good. Love (as a friend) Tonks." Remus felt tears prickling his eyes as his heart rose but he didn't let Xenophilius see.

"And on the fourth day," Xenophilius said triumphantly, "There are the ones worth waiting for."

"Do you often get letters like these?" Remus asked, folding up the letter and putting it in his pocket.

"Oh, yes, often. People are happy to get the chance to read about more than just Hogwarts and the latest scandal in the Ministry. We provide the real news," he said proudly, "Lots of information on the Crumple-Horned Snorkack!"

"Er, yeah," Remus nodded, reaching for a white envelope and opening it. "Ah! Another thank you!" he said, smiling as he read it. A witch thanked him for speaking the truth and admitted to her own plight as a werewolf in the Wizarding World.

"I must go and prepare supper, will you be staying?" Xenophilius asked tying a rainbow coloured apron around his waist. Remus thought with horror of the Dirigible Plum soup he had been subjected to the previous night.

"No, really, thank you but I should go home. I have a, er, owl that needs looking after," The Azkaban owl had been spending long amounts of time with Remus in his kitchen as he thought repetitively of Sirius' words.

"Oh," Xenophilius said, disappointed, "It's just, Emilia was hoping to see you." Remus looked up.

"What? She-She was? Oh well then-"

"But your owl does need looking after," Xenophilius wondered, oblivious to Remus' sudden change of mood, "I remember an owl I had as a child, Bernie, his name was. I always gave him as much attention as I could. They're just like people you see..." he went on about owls as Remus began packing up several piles of envelopes into his briefcase, nodding all the while.

"Tomorrow then?" Remus said.

"Absolutely!" Xenophilius clapped his hands together, grinning widely.

"Will, er, Emilia be here?" Remus asked, trying to act casual.

"Oh you dog, you!" Xenophilius smiled knowingly, "Yes she shall."

"Um, okay then," Remus nodded, smiling slightly to himself, "See you then."

"Safe Disapparition!" Xenophilius called as Remus shut the front door. He sighed and Disapparated, taking a deep breath as he arrived back in his kitchen.

He checked his watch and noticed the date with a slight sinking feeling. It was the 11th of January, Lily Potter's would be twenty-second birthday. Remus conjured up a bright green candle, the colour of her eyes, and lit it with her wand.

"Happy Birthday Lil," he said out loud and set the candle down on the counter.

* * *

"Lovely dinner, darling, as always." Pandora kissed her husband on the cheek. Remus suppressed a slight shudder as he felt his stomach trying to digest the meal he had just been served; sheep's head with carrot and dirigible plum gravy. He heard a low snicker from across the table and looked up to see Emilia laughing silently. She flashed her napkin filled with food and he returned a grin. Luna started squirming in her high chair.

"Bedtime, Luna-Posey!" Pandora said, scooping up her daughter.

"I shall join the Putting-To-Bed-Ceremony!" Xenophilius said, getting up and grabbing what appeared to be a lantern made of feathers and leaping up the stairs ahead of his wife. The odd couple's exit was observed with looks of amusement from Remus and Emilia.

"My sister's always been weird," she said, "At least she found someone as stark-raving mental as herself to marry."

"They are a perfect couple," Remus agreed, nodding.

"So, I've considered what you asked me last week," Emilia told him, smiling.

"Oh, yeah?" Remus said.

"Would you like to go to The Hollow with me tomorrow night?" she asked and there wasn't a hint of nervousness in her voice. Remus couldn't decide if he admired Emilia's forthrightness or felt intimidated by it but he replied nevertheless.

"I would be most honoured," he told her.

"Do you even know what The Hollow is?" Emilia questioned him, raising her eyebrows.

"Er, no," Remus admitted. He had heard about it in passing but hadn't felt the need to find out more about it. He didn't get out much anyway.

"It's a restaurant, of course, but it's...kind of weird. Like, it's remind you of Pandora and Xenophilius."

Remus laughed, "This I have to see."

"And you will," she winked, "Tomorrow night!"

* * *

"There you are, Winslowe!" Remus said cheerfully as he put a tiny bowl filled with bacon on the kitchen counter beside the porpoise coloured owl. She hooted happily and stuck her beak into the bowl.

"So, I'll be out tonight," he told her, waving his wand and cleaning dishes. "I know, I'm excited too," he told the owl when it didn't respond.

It was 5:30PM and he had to be at The Hollow in half an hour. Three different outfits had been pre-set out on the bed and he had checked multiple times when the next full moon was, inexplicably doubting that it was indeed on the 20th as it had been every time he checked. He hated to admit it to himself but he was nervous. Remus had never been on a real date before, or had a real girlfriend. He'd always considered himself, in his condition, unworthy of such things, but lately it seemed more and more like something that could potentially do him a lot of could. Whether he was worthy was still a gnawing question at the back of his mind but he would ignore that for now.

He knew he wouldn't be telling Emilia about his "furry little problem" tonight. Of his newest friends, Xenophilius had been the only one to know about his lycanthropy and he preferred to keep it that way for now. Remus hated involving people; he knew how dangerous it was and he wasn't sure yet how he felt about Emilia.

Winslowe's beak scraped the bottom of the bowl as she finished her bacon and she looked up at Remus as though asking for more.

"Sorry Wins, maybe later." He stroked the top of the owl's head with the back of his finger and smiled down at her. Remus checked the time, 5:40PM and went to get dressed, emerging another ten minutes later in a white shirt, dark blue jeans and a black jacket.

"How do I look?" he asked the owl, which observed him curiously, trying to discern if it was about to receive more bacon. "Be good!" he said as he turned on the spot and Apparated onto the doorstep of a restaurant with dark green painted doors, dotted with what seemed to be small purple clocks.

"Remus!" Emilia hurried up onto the front steps, "Hi! Hello, you're just on time!" she kissed him on the cheek and beamed at him. She was wearing a small black skirt and a white shirt with "Witch Way?" printed on it. Remus felt his cheeks redden and he quickly opened the door and stood back.

"Ladies first," he said and Emilia grinned and walked into the restaurant. Remus followed and saw exactly what she had meant about it being weird. The walls were painted in such a way that it felt as though he was looking through a kaleidoscope. The ceiling was draped with veils that, although were visible, seemed to be made of wind. The tables were small tree stumps with multicoloured cushions set out around them for chairs.

"Hello Travellers, and welcome to the Hollow," a short witch appeared at their side, "I'm Misty and I shall be your guide for the evening as you embark on a journey of flavours," she had a dreamy voice, like Pandora, and her hair was long and cerulean coloured. She had one lavender and one peach coloured eye, both of which sparkled in the dim lighting which appeared to be coming from floating, ethereal spheres.

"Misty! Hey, this is Remus," Emilia grinned, obviously she knew the witch.

"Emilia, Merlin! I didn't realise it was you," Misty's voice lost it's dreaminess for a moment and her eyes both flashed to a neutral grey colour, "Remus?" she asked, her eyes going lavender and peach coloured again, "Nice to meet you!"

They shook hands and she led them to a tree stump around which Remus and Emilia sat. Remus noted, with discomfort, how impractical the cushions were; he could only cross his legs and he could barely lean across to reach the table.

"There are four courses at The Hollow tonight," Misty said with her floaty voice, "Enjoy." She wondered off without leaving anything for them _to enjoy._

"Yeah, she's an odd one," Emilia laughed, twiddling the red sweet pea in the chair-shaped vase in the centre of the tree stump table.

"You don't say..." Remus said, "How does she change her eye colour like that?" he asked.

"A spell, whenever she breaks character her eyes go normal." A plate of odd, berry blue dumplings appeared in front of both Remus and Emilia and Remus recoiled slightly. "Sorry, should've warned you," Emilia giggled.  
Remus warily lifted a dumpling to his mouth. It smelled like seaweed and pistachio and, wrinkling his nose slightly, he took a bite and felt his taste buds get assaulted by and assortment of flavours that definitely weren't meant to be mixed. The dumpling tasted like bread dipped in milk and covered in coconut and egg nog mixed with granola.

"Wow!" he choked, his eyes watering.

"Not their best," Emilia agreed. Sensing that they were both finished, the dumplings disappeared and were replaced by bowls of bronze coloured soup that smelt more like edible food; carrot and squash. Remus scooped some up and ate it with a spoon. It was disappointingly ordinary after the dumplings but he ate it all, at fear that this would be the last thing remotely safe to eat. He was right. The third course was a brick coloured steak with rose flavoured potatoes that were purple tinged and a side of mulberries covered in olive gravy.

"I'm so sorry!" Emilia said staring in disbelief as her steak dripped white oil. An attempt at dessert, a silver bowl filled with periwinkle blue ice cream drowned in shamrock green sauce and three black berries which appeared to be glittering appeared last.

"Yeah, we should go," Remus laughed as the dessert disappeared. He counted out a few Galleons and dropped them on the table. He and Emilia walked along the snow covered street, chatting lightly about nothing in particular.

"So, tell me about your childhood?" Emilia asked suddenly.

"Oh, er," Remus stumbled slightly, there was nothing he could tell her about his childhood without telling her about being a werewolf. "Yeah it was good." he said lamely.

"Great," Emilia sounded unenthused by carried on, "What house were you in in Hogwarts?"

"Gryffindor," Remus smiled proudly.

"Oh," she sounded slightly disappointed.

"You?"

"Ravenclaw."

"Ah."

"Yep, _wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure," _she recited.

"_Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart_," Remus countered.

"Hm," Emilia said and Remus thought he could detect a slight hint of tiredness in her voice. _Damnit_ he said to himself, _Say something cool!_

"So, yeah. How about that Filch?" _What the hell?_

"Oh my God, what an idiot," Emilia laughed, "And that bloody cat!" They laughed together as snow started falling lightly.

Remus shivered slightly, "It's beautiful," he said, looking up at the falling tufts. And then Emilia leant forwards and kissed him very lightly and quickly on the cheek. For the second time that night he felt his face redden and he smiled down at her.

"I had a wonderful time," she smiled at him, "Next time, I swear we can go to a proper restaurant."

"Next time?" Remus raised his eyebrows, smiling.

"Well...I mean, if you wanted to," Emilia's cool demeanour slipped momentarily and she looked anxious.

"No, I mean, I'd love to!" Remus said quickly.

"I would to," Emilia smiled up at him and together they walked down the road in the dark, snowy night, neither of them feeling the cold.


End file.
